Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#1

Post by pi3141592 » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 9:25 AM UTC

I know this question has been asked and answered many times, but I think new answers can bring value me as well as to others here..

Answering for emails is destructive in terms of context switching - You are working for client A and then suddenly an email comes from client B, which totally wastes time due to context switching etc, So even if the answer to the email takes 30 secs, it's still destructive.. Also, I have to stop the hours timer for client A because i cannot charge him for money while i read and answer to client B's email ..

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#2

Post by codeaken » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 9:55 AM UTC

Only read and answer emails a couple of times during the day. For the rest of the day keep your email client closed and notifications off.

You can even add a little notice in your email signature that this is how you operate.

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#3

Post by michaelmcmillan » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 10:03 AM UTC

I think it is your responsibility to make sure you dedicate yourself 100% when you're working for a client. That means not being carried away reading emails related to other matters when you're on the clock.

With that being said, we just charge a general fee each month called "Administration & maintenance". It's the equivalent of 4 hours consulting. That usually covers any time spent not directly impacting the work for the client.

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#4

Post by pi3141592 » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 10:39 AM UTC

michaelmcmillan wrote: post #3

I think it is your responsibility to make sure you dedicate yourself 100% when you're working for a client. That means not being carried away reading emails related to other matters when you're on the clock. With that being said, we just charge a general fee each month called "Administration & maintenance". It's the equivalent of 4 hours consulting. That usually covers any time spent not directly impacting the work f…

thanks for your reply. I liked the idea of a "Administration & maintenance" fee, and it sounds very reasonable to charge for a few hours of "emails & phones" stuff.. thanks 1. Do you charge the normal rate for that or a discounted rate? 2. Do you not accept clients who do not accept this type of monthly fee ? in other words - how important is this to you ?

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#5

Post by pi3141592 » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 10:42 AM UTC

codeaken wrote: post #2

Only read and answer emails a couple of times during the day. For the rest of the day keep your email client closed and notifications off. You can even add a little notice in your email signature that this is how you operate.

thanks for the reply. on one hand what you are saying make sense.. too much distractions will make my other clients suffer and to me lose some money on the way.. on the other hand - I personally would not go to a freelance guy who only answers my emails 3 times a day.. what if i have an emergency ? (and yes,that is very subjective, i know).

I would prefer to receive fast email replies with a lot of value, rather than an automated response which would make me think i am using the services of a large bureaucratized corporation that treats me like a small fish..

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#6

Post by MarkCole » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 11:49 AM UTC

pi3141592 wrote: post #5

codeaken wrote: post #2

Only read and answer emails a couple of times during the day. For the rest of the day keep your email client closed and notifications off. You can even add a little notice in your email signature that this is how you operate.

thanks for the reply. on one hand what you are saying make sense.. too much distractions will make my other clients suffer and to me lose some money on the way.. on the other hand - I personally would not go to a freelance guy who only answers my emails 3 times a day.. what if i have an emergency ? (and yes,that is very subjective, i know). I would prefer to receive fast email replies with a lot of value, rather than…

Lets imagine you check your email 4 times a day instead. In an 8 hour workday, you would check it around once every 2 hours. So the absolute maximum time your client would wait for a reply would be 2 hours during working hours. Would your current clients find this unreasonable?

There are not many issues that justify a "NEED A REPLY THIS VERY SECOND" response. You should find that most of your clients aren't sitting at their inbox awaiting your reply, but also get on with their other work. For emergency situations, an emergency number to call if they need a response might be the answer, but stress it's use only for dire emergencies that are costing them real money if not fixed immediately.

This means you can have dedicated time focused on emails, allowing you to form better replies. Cutting back to 3 times a day would be even better. One when you start, once at your lunch break, then once at the end of the day. With an 8 hour work day, 3 times a day is still only a 2 and a half hour maximum wait time.

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#7

Post by gull » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 12:04 PM UTC

pi3141592 wrote: post #5

codeaken wrote: post #2

Only read and answer emails a couple of times during the day. For the rest of the day keep your email client closed and notifications off. You can even add a little notice in your email signature that this is how you operate.

thanks for the reply. on one hand what you are saying make sense.. too much distractions will make my other clients suffer and to me lose some money on the way.. on the other hand - I personally would not go to a freelance guy who only answers my emails 3 times a day.. what if i have an emergency ? (and yes,that is very subjective, i know). I would prefer to receive fast email replies with a lot of value, rather than…

Which is more valuable:

1. Receiving email replies fast.

2. Receiving the work you are paying for finished fast.

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#8

Post by brianwawok » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 1:50 PM UTC

pi3141592 wrote: post #5

codeaken wrote: post #2

Only read and answer emails a couple of times during the day. For the rest of the day keep your email client closed and notifications off. You can even add a little notice in your email signature that this is how you operate.

thanks for the reply. on one hand what you are saying make sense.. too much distractions will make my other clients suffer and to me lose some money on the way.. on the other hand - I personally would not go to a freelance guy who only answers my emails 3 times a day.. what if i have an emergency ? (and yes,that is very subjective, i know). I would prefer to receive fast email replies with a lot of value, rather than…

Have you dealt with other professionals before? Say Lawyers or Architects or Doctors over email?

A 4h reply is good. A 24h reply time is standard. A 48h reply is not unheard of.

Why should programmer be different?

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#9

Post by saluki » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 1:54 PM UTC

pi3141592 wrote: post #4

michaelmcmillan wrote: post #3

I think it is your responsibility to make sure you dedicate yourself 100% when you're working for a client. That means not being carried away reading emails related to other matters when you're on the clock. With that being said, we just charge a general fee each month called "Administration & maintenance". It's the equivalent of 4 hours consulting. That usually covers any time spent not directly impacting the work f…

thanks for your reply. I liked the idea of a "Administration & maintenance" fee, and it sounds very reasonable to charge for a few hours of "emails & phones" stuff.. thanks 1. Do you charge the normal rate for that or a discounted rate? 2. Do you not accept clients who do not accept this type of monthly fee ? in other words - how important is this to you ?

I would recommend adding this Admin time in to your hourly or project rates. Most clients aren't going to be happy with an added admin/maint. fee. If it's built in to your rate it's easier for everyone to handle and you won't have them questioning your invoice for an extra 3 or 4 hours of time.

Plus if it's built in you'll worry less about tracking time for emails.

Keep it simple, you need email to stay in contact with clients/getting new work so just check it a few times per day especially if feel it's becoming a problem. Responding fast takes a little time, but will keep your clients happy. Another great option is to hire a VA to review your emails, respond when they can and forward you the important ones. Maybe setup a mail@ or support@ or project@ email for clients to use instead of your specific work email.

Re: Ask HN: Do you (freelancers) charge for emails?

#10

Post by davismwfl » Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 2:07 PM UTC

No. Even past clients as long as they are not abusing us we will always respond. We try to respond the same day, but many times it is the next day regardless of who we are responding to. That is unless of course we are actively communicating about something that needs resolution.

Checking email a couple of times a day is not a big deal and responding than, worse case is usually 4-5 hour gap. If something is more urgent the phone is a better solution anyway. I will say that it is a balance though as some clients if you don't respond to an email in 15 minutes are picking up the phone and calling you wanting their answer immediately. So you have to set the boundaries with clients and make sure their expectations are reasonable and that you are not being unreasonable yourself.

Also one other point, when you are managing multiple clients, a quick email response that says you have received their email and will get back to them by EOD, or next day etc is all they really need. So it doesn't have to be a huge drawn out email. This helps when you are working on Client A and Client B sends an email.